


Soldier's Time Off

by dagas isa (dagas_isa)



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, Rebuilding, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-16
Updated: 2010-09-16
Packaged: 2017-10-11 22:12:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/117660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dagas_isa/pseuds/dagas%20isa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A soldier's duty extends to anything and everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soldier's Time Off

A single Adamantoise would dwarf the walls of New Oerba, but for those who build it stone by stone in a seemingly ceaseless and thankless task, the small settlement's fortification might as well circle the entire steppe.

Hope reaches for the bottle of water at his side. "This sucks."

Lightning turns to him, sweeping a sweat-soaked strand of strawberry hair behind her ear. "You're always welcome to join them." She turns and gestures out to the other settlers who join them in taming a small corner of Archelyte Steppe into a space suitable for human habitation. "You could help Dajh and Corwen watch the sheep. You know, kids' work."

"Why are you doing this? No one else is working nearly so hard. Soldiers don't build things, they fight."

Lightning turns back to her place on the wall, setting the stone before her mortar dries. "They teach you in Guardian Corps that soldiers do everything and to be prepared for anything. My sergeant had us all learning how to build fortifications in Bodhum, just in case of the impossible hurricane." She scoops up more mortar and places it in the remaining gaps, smoothing it over until there's no crack. "Don't worry. We'll see plenty of action, even with these walls."

"I guess, but does that mean we have to do this all the time? We just finished saving everybody. Don't soldiers get some time off to celebrate?"

Lightning looks around where their friends and the other displaced residents of Cocoon venturing outside their cradle for the first time worked. Dajh and his chocobo with the sheep and Sazh building another fence around the pasture, while Serah builds the bonfire. Crude houses are already going up, under the supervision of NORA. It's been three months of rebuilding already, but life continues.

"'Sup, sis?" Snow walks and takes one of the stones from the pile and leans against the drying section of the wall. "Need a hand?"

"Will that ever get old?" Lightning points to the mostly empty barrow of mortar. "You can mix us up some more of that."

She turns her attention back to Hope, and tells him exactly what Amodar told her when she complained about her turn building the fortification: "Time off, huh? What do you think this is?"

Hope scowls at her and gets back to work.


End file.
